Israeli doctors debut groundbreaking 3D-printed chest implant

Rather than rebuilding the area with conventional materials such as titanium plates, synthetic mesh, or bone cement, surgeons implanted a replacement tailored specifically to the patient’s anatomy.

By Shula Rosen

Israeli medical centers and technology companies are increasingly turning to 3D technology to tackle some of medicine’s most complex procedures, with recent breakthroughs ranging from personalized implants to laboratory-grown tissue and augmented reality-guided surgery, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Among the latest advances, surgeons at Clalit-Beilinson Hospital carried out Israel’s first reconstruction of an entire chest wall using a custom-made 3D-printed implant after removing a young woman’s sternum and sections of her ribs because of an exceptionally rare cancer.

The patient, identified only as Hadas and described as being in her twenties, underwent surgery after physicians found a tumor that had eroded her sternum.

Although the mass was initially believed to be a benign cartilage tumor, further evaluation identified it as a BRAF-altered mesenchymal tumor, an uncommon form of sarcoma documented in only about 20 cases worldwide in the medical literature.

Because the cancer involved the center of the chest, the operation required removal of both the sternum and attached portions of the ribs.

Rather than rebuilding the area with conventional materials such as titanium plates, synthetic mesh, or bone cement, surgeons implanted a replacement tailored specifically to the patient’s anatomy.

The device was produced from PEKK (polyether ketone ketone), a high-performance carbon fiber-reinforced polymer selected because its strength and flexibility closely resemble those of natural bone.

The operation lasted about two hours. After removing the diseased bone, surgeons inserted the customized implant through an incision beneath the breasts designed to limit visible scarring while restoring the chest structure.

The procedure reflects broader advances in Israel’s use of three-dimensional technology in medicine.

At Rambam Health Care Campus, physicians performed a pioneering transplant using a laboratory-grown 3D human cornea created from cell sources.

Israeli companies are also applying the technology in the operating room.

Augmedics’ xvision system projects real-time three-dimensional navigation images of the spine and pelvis directly onto a surgeon’s retina, while Beyeonics has developed digital surgical headsets that combine augmented reality with 3D imaging.

Three-dimensional printing is also being incorporated into orthopedic oncology, where patient-specific guides and plates help surgeons carry out complex bone resections and tumor removal procedures with greater precision.